


Cafuné

by Tototops



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Dianakko Week, Dianakko Week 2020, F/F, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:21:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26107876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tototops/pseuds/Tototops
Summary: Diana is woken up by a restless Akko, who is worried about something and needs some comfort so she can sleep well for the night.
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Comments: 11
Kudos: 79





	Cafuné

**Author's Note:**

> Posted for Dianakko Week 2020 Day 2

* * *

The weight shifting beside Diana roused her up from sleep. Squinting and slightly opening her eyes, she reached for the nightstand on the left of the bed and gently tapped her crystal ball.

The mattress dipped again, and Diana turned around to see Akko looking straight up, eyes very much open.

"Sorry for waking you up, Di. I'll just lay still, you can go back to sleep."

"Something bothering you, my love?" Even though Diana was a light sleeper and being woken up by Akko wasn't all that uncommon, she wasn't just going to ignore her girlfriend tossing and turning restless in their bed. Doubly more so when it looked like Akko didn't get a single second of sleep, her eyes open like they haven't been shut at all.

"It's.. fine. Nothing to worry about, dear. You have classes very early in the morning, you need to rest." Akko raised herself on her elbows and turned to kiss Diana good night again, but as she was about to get close Diana stopped Akko's movement placing her hand on her girlfriend's cheeks.

Illuminated by the soft glow of the crystal ball still active, Akko could see Diana looking at her with a soft expression, giving her space and the signal it was OK to open up - "Want to talk about it, Akko?"

Taking her time, putting her thoughts in order to voice them, Akko confessed. "It's just.. I don't know.. if I can do this. It's been weeks and I still can't perform all the routine. Magic just seems to.. to slip away at the end. I... I'm scared that.."

Fully awake now, Diana sat on the bed and took Akko's hands in hers, trying to soothe her lover's nervousness -- "Hey, that's not the tenacious woman that I know. It's okay to be scared and not be able to perfectly perform magic sometimes. That doesn't mean you're losing it once again."

"I know. I'm just overthinking this. I guess you're rubbing off too much on me."

"You say it like you don't like it." Sensing that her attempt at a joke didn't help to calm Akko, Diana tried again, "We can go over the routine together if it'll help you. Or perhaps Chariot has some advice to share from her past, I bet she still struggled a whole lot and we just never got to see it."

Akko nodded and lightly kissed Diana, their lips softly met in a quick peck. "Good, my love. Now, come here", Diana laid back down and before Akko could do the same the blond stretched her right arm in an invitation to Akko rest on top of it. Which Akko did, snuggling herself closer to Diana. Akko reached her arm across and hugged her girlfriend, trying to hold as much contact with the woman of her life as she could, while Diana gently caressed Akko's side.

Despite the cuddling, Diana could still sense Akko's uneasiness, her girlfriend haunted by nightmares of the past and not fully letting sleep take over.

"Can I talk to about something from university, love?"

"Huh, yes."

"There is this subject. 'Magical Medical Anthropology Studies'.."

"Sounds _veeeery_ interesting."

"In fact, it actually is. Just the professor is extremely picky with my papers alone for no reason whatsoever."

"Wow, Diana Cavendish talking bad about a professor. I'm scandalized."

Diana kissed the top of Akko's head, "You are silly. Anyway, what I was trying to say is that we do research on different expressions of magic throughout the history and world. I was recently studying some beliefs and culture from the indigenous peoples from America, more specifically South America."

"Hmm now _that_ sounds more exciting." 

"I said it was interesting. They have an extensive range of regional beliefs and rituals. However, there is one particular thing about their culture that stood the most to me, but it is not about their magic though."

"What is it then?"

"It is a cultural gesture that survived the time and spread even to modern day society. Its name does not have a direct translation though," Diana lifted up her hand that was resting on Akko's waist and reached up to place its palm wide on the back of her head. "It is called cafuné."

As Diana was speaking, she buried her fingers between Akko's hair, slowly and gently running them on Akko's scalp, as if she was trying to close her hand without moving it away. Stopping just before closing it completely, Diana extended her fingers until her hand was fully open again resting flatly on Akko's head.

A soft hum of comfort surged from Akko's throat and Diana could see her girlfriend relaxing with the gesture. "What does it mean then?"

"It could be described as 'softly running one's finger over someone else's hair', but it has more meaning and depth than that." Diana started to explain while still caressing Akko's head. "There are no clear answers as to where this word actually came from. Some say it comes from African origins, others say it is from a Brazilian indigenous tribe, but regardless of its origins.."

Akko adjusted herself on top of Diana, but instead of the early stiffness, Akko was clearly more relaxed, letting her weight drop on top of er girlfriend. The apprehension that kept sleepiness away was disappearing and giving space to the embrace of sweet soft dreams. Diana continued both to explain and coax Akko to sleep.

"Cafuné is, foremost, a gesture of love. It is rooted in intimacy and care, done between two people that share a bond, be it fraternal or romantic. It is affection for its sake. It is watching someone you love relax while you softly caress their worries and stress away. It is sweet and simple, and needs to be gentle to be done properly."

Diana finished explaining, still doing cafuné on Akko's head. She was expecting some comments from her now relaxed girlfriend, but instead she only heard heavy breathing. Akko clearly tired after tossing and turning for a good portion of the night was finally sound asleep and relaxing, her worries set aside at least for the time being.

Diana leaned down and gently kissed the top of Akko's head resting on her shoulders. "Sleep well, my love. I love you so much."

**Author's Note:**

> A little backstory, I'm from Brazil and when I saw the prompt for cuddling, cafuné was the first thing that got on my head. It's hard to describe cafuné because it is essentially 'running your fingers on someone's head', but also not the exact same thing, more like a feeling, a connection than anything else. I hope this little bit of our culture was sweet enough for the prompt. Thanks for reading.


End file.
